A Prayer for the Dying

Lord Jesus, You are no stranger to a deathbed. You sat with the dying, You wept at a grave, and You walked through death Yourself so that no one You love would ever walk it alone. Come now, and be near the one we love.

Where there is pain, bring ease. Where there is fear, bring Your deep calm. Where words have stopped, let Your presence speak. If hearing lingers, let the last sounds be loving ones — a familiar voice, a psalm, a quiet room filled with more peace than sorrow.

Thank You for this life now drawing to a close: for all the years, the work, the love given and received, for everything they were to us that no ending can take away. Forgive whatever needs forgiving, settle whatever is unsettled, and let them leave this world at peace with You and at peace with us.

Bless the hands that tend them in these hours — the hospice workers, nurses, and doctors whose skill and gentleness are Your kindness made visible. Steady the family around this bed, and give us grace to say what love needs to say: thank you, I love you, you can rest now.

And when the moment comes, Lord, which You alone know, receive them gently. Let the passage be short and the welcome be sweet. Into Your hands we entrust the one we love, trusting You to be merciful, as You have always been.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

When to Pray This

Pray this at the bedside of someone who is dying — aloud if that feels right, or silently while you hold their hand. Many families read it more than once over the final days; there is no wrong number of times. If you cannot finish it through tears, God hears the tears too.

A Verse to Hold On To

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." — Psalm 23:4 (KJV)